Sunday, October 14, 2012

Baby is six months old now, and I am drooling over family bicycle options. I think it's between this Christiania trike, the Christiania 2 wheel bakfiets, or a classic bakfiets from Workcyclesor American-made CETMA. The trike is for sale over at Houndstooth Road in Decatur... Anyone know where I can test ride a 2 wheel bakfiets?

Friday, October 12, 2012

The Fifth Street bicycle lane has been a valuable low-traffic connection between Midtown West/ Georgia Tech and Midtown East/ Virginia Highland/ Old Fourth Ward (and now the BeltLine). But there was always the tricky spot at one-way W. Peachtree St where Fifth jogged and you couldn't travel eastbound on it without going the wrong way or on the sidewalk for half a block. At one point, Tech had a driveway that made the connection, but they replaced it with a plaza...

Now, there is a new facility to address this problem. Cyclists continuing east on Fifth follow a ramp that takes them upstream so they are aligned with the next segment of the Fifth Street bike lane using a reallocated portion of the sidewalk. It is being referred to as a cycle track, although it is different from tracks I have seen - it is marked with paint rather than separated by curbing or pavement surface, and it is along the back of the sidewalk. But it does get you where you need to go.

For westbound traffic, I'm told there is now a "Copenhagen left turn" in which you stop beside the bike lane and wait for the green light on the cross street. I'm afraid I didn't see it as I had merged over to the left lane before my turn, as usual. Lanes are marked with green paint and directional arrows through the intersection. It is a pilot project, so city and state transportation departments will try to learn from its performance.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The promise of the BeltLine started to come true last saturday. Although the eastside section of the path wasn't quite finished - entrances weren't paved and there was no lighting - it was open to the public during Atlanta Streets Alive. As always, I was astounded by the latent bicycle culture that materializes anytime there are nice routes provided.

If you thought the only potential path riders in Atlanta were some spandex-clad athletes and maybe a few people with a cheap bike in the back of the garage, well, nothing could be further from the truth. Friends and families zipped along, going to restaurants, visiting neighbors, and finally stopping at the party at Ponce City East as it got dark. The bicycles rolling past me were as diverse and as stylish as the people riding them. I was with hope for the city's future.

Monday, October 8, 2012

We caught just the last few minutes of ASA this past weekend. A few minutes watching the astounding volume of bicycles, skateboards, strollers, people... Then they started letting cars through again and the traffic dwindled away. But for those few minutes, Atlanta once again showed its potential to be great. It's all about the people, getting a brief chance to live the way they want to live.